Montague Accommodation Centre

The site is at The Montague, Emo, near Portlaoise, Co. Laois. Irish international protection accommodation is provided through IPAS (the International Protection Accommodation Service), under the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. For how the system works and what it costs, open the cost panel on the interactive map with Ireland selected.

Only events reported by named outlets and explicitly tied to this site are listed. Charges are allegations, not convictions — the presumption of innocence applies.

• Sep 2014Peaceful protest

  Residents refuse food in protest

  Residents refused food in protest at living conditions and processing delays — reported at the time as the third such food-refusal protest at Irish centres within weeks. The centre then housed around 160 people.

  Irish Examiner · source

• Nov 2014Access dispute

  Priest told he would be refused entry

  The parish priest of Portlaoise said he was told by the centre’s owner that he would be refused entry over his public comments on direct provision. He later attended and was admitted.

  Irish Examiner · source

Irish IPAS accommodation is funded by the State. At a blended benchmark of about €84 per person per night (the 2024 whole-system average reported by RTÉ), the 202 people reported here imply roughly €6.2m per year. This is an order-of-magnitude figure for context only, not a site-specific invoice — over 90% of IPAS accommodation is commercially provided and emergency rates run far above State-owned centres.

The Irish Times · 2021. View source

Coordinates geocoded from the published address/town via OpenStreetMap; status reflects the cited reporting and may have changed since.